Feeding means for coiled springs



3 1,963 I R. ALDRIDGE v 3,115,990

FEEDING MEANS FOR COIILED SPRINGS Filed 0ct..9. 196; 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INvENToRi Re' H fld 'l e Bviswm Dec. 31, 1963 R. ALDRIDIGE 3,1 5, 0

FEEDING MEANS FOR COILED SPRINGS Filed Oct. 9. 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORI Dec. 31-, 1963 R. ALDRIDGE FEEDING MEANS FOR COILED SPRINGS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 9. 1961 Dec. 31, 1963 R. ALDRIDGE 3,

' FEEDING MEANS FOR COILED SPRINGS Filed Oct. 9, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet .4

INVENTOR:

Dec. 31,1963

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 9. 1961 INVENTOR R6 4d MA United States Patent Ofilice 3,1153% Patented Dec. 31, l53

3,1159% FEEDING MEANS F63 COIILED SPRENGS Reginald Aldridge, Coventry, England, assignor to Slumberland Group Limited, Birmingham, England, a cornpany of Great Britain Fired Get. 9, 1961, Ser. No. 143,750 Claims priority, application Great Brita-in Oct. 12, 1960 6 Claims. (Cl. 221-93) This invention relates to improvements in feeding means for coiled springs, and relates more particularly to means for feeding upholstery springs individually from a hopper or stack to a machine by which they are assembled to form a spring centre for a mattress or other assembly.

in feeding means according to our invention, springs are stacked in superimposed relationship with their axes horizontal in a hopper or between guides in which they move downwardly under gravity, and an intermediate coil of the lowermost spring is :guided into a radial notch in an oscillating member angularly movable about an axis at right angles to the axes of the springs, the oscillating member taking the spring downwardly and feeding the spring into jaw or notch in a transfer arm which moves downwardly to withdraw the spring from the notch in the oscillating member and then angularly to insert the saring into guides or other locating means in a machine by which a number of springs are assembled together in spaced relationship.

As the transfer ar-m is taking the spring to its final position, the oscillating member returns to its initial position to receive the next spring and so on, the movements of the oscillating member and the transfer arm'being synchronised by any convenient form of driving mechanism.

At an appropriate point in the feeding mechanism, there is preferably arranged a microswitch or other form of electric detector which automatically stops the mechanism if for any reason a spring is not picked up.

One practical form of feeding means in accordance with our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan of two adjacent feeding units;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation;

FIG 3 is a front elevation;

TGURE 4 is a vertical section on the line 4t f FEGURE 3 showing two adjacent units; and

FiGURE 5 is a section on the line 5 of FIGURE 2.

The feeding means illustrated comprises a number of aligned units, all driven simultaneously from a common power source or sources, and each feeding springs of the waisted or hourglass type individually into spaced guides or other locating means in a machine by Will 1: the springs are interconnected in spaced relationship to form a spring centre for a mattress or other assembly.

As all the units are identical, only one need be described.

At the upper end of each unit, there are two spaced vertical guides it), ll between which springs are stacked with their axes horizontal. The springs may be fed automatically to the upper end of the guides from a springmaking machine, and the springs nest into each other so that a large number of springs can be accommodated in a relatively small height.

The springs slide downwardly between the guides under gravity, and as they move downwardly, their end coils engage locating plates 12 which position them correctly for the entry of an interm diate coil of the lowermost spring between V guides 13, 1'4 which guide it into a slot or notch 15 in an oscillating disc 16 when the slot or notch is at the top of the disc. The disc is mounted on one end of a short spindle l7 rotatably mounted in a bearing in the frame 18 of the machine, and having on its other end a toothed wheel 19. The axis of the spindie is at right angles to the axes of the springs, and the wheel 13 meshes with an idler wheel 21 which in turn meshes with a reciprocating rack (not shown) which is actuated by any convenient means such as a compressed air cylinder, and oscillates the disc to through an angle of between positions in which the notch 16 is at the top and bottom of the disc respectively. The radial depth of the notch is substantially equal to or very slightly greater than the thickness of the wire of a spring so that only one spring at a time can engage in the note As soon as the spring coil enters the notch 16, the disc is rotated through 180, the wire being retained in the notch by a concentric arcuate part of the guide 13 and as the disc approaches its end position, it takes the portion of the wire which is in the notch into a bifurcated hook or jaw 22 which straddles the lower part of the disc, and is secured by screws 23 to the free end of a transfer arm 24. This arm is carried by a spindle 25 of which the axis is horizontal and at right angles to the axis of the spindle 17.

The spindle Z5 is mounted in a bearing in a subframe which is movable vertically by any convenient means such as a compressed air cylinder, and a gear-wheel 26' on the spindle meshes with a reciprocating rack (not shown) or any other convenient operating means actuated by another compressed air cylinder for reciprocating the spindle and transfer arm through an angle of 180.

As soon as the spring has been inserted by the notched disc into the bifurcated hook. or jaw 22, the means for moving the sub-frame vertically are enengised and the su -frarne moves downwardly and withdraws the spring from the notched disc and takes it clear of the surrounding parts of the machine. The means for moving the spindle angularly are then energised and the transfer arm swings round to place the spring in position in the assembly forming machine. While the spring is being moved by the transfer arm, it is located against axial displacement by locating members 27 which are carried by the arm on opposite sides of the hook or jaw and into which the end coils of the spring are moved by the disc 16.

When a transfer arm has completed its movement for feeding a spring into the assembly-forming machine, the parts are returned immediately to their initial position and the next spring is. fed.

The oscillatin movements of the discs, the vertical reciprocation of the sub-frame in which the spindles of the transfer arms are mounted, and the angular oscillation of the transfer arms are synchronised by any convenient means so that the feeding of springs takes place automatically and continuously.

The assembly-forming machine may be of any convenient type. Where it is of the type which forms and applies a coiled pitch wire to connect springs in parallel rows, the feeding means will comprise a row of aligned units corresponding in number to the number of springs in a row and driven in synchronism to feed a row of springs simultaneously into the machine where they are connected by a pitch wire.

The assembly of feeding units may be mounted in a frame which, after each row of springs has been fed into position, it automatically moved in a direction at right angles to the row through a distance equal to the spacing between adjacent rows.

Alternatively the machine for assembling the springs may be movable relative to the feeding means.

In a modified arrangement, the springs may be stacked in a hopper instead of between guides.

I claim:

1. Means for feeding coiled upholstery springs individually to a machine by which they are interconnected to form a spring centre for a mattress or other assembly comprising guiding means in which springs are stacked in superimposed relationship with their axes horizontal and in which they move downwardly under gravity, power operated oscillating means located below said guiding means for engaging an intermediate coil of the lowermost spring and moving the spring downwardly through a predetermined distance, and vertically and angularly movable means for positively withdrawing the spring from said oscillating member and inserting it into the machine.

2. Means for feeding coiled upholstery springs individually to a machine by which they are interconnected to form a spring centre for a mattress or other assembly, comprising a frame, guiding means on said frame in which springs are stacked in superimposed relationship with their axes horizontal and in which they move downwardly under gravity, an oscillating disc located below said guiding means and angularly movable about an axis at right angles to the axes of the springs, a radial notch in the periphery of said disc for receiving an intermediate coil of the lowermost spring when said notch is directed vertically upwards, means for oscillating said disc through an angle of 180 to move the spring downwardly, a subfrarne movable vertically on said frame, a transfer arm mounted for angular movement in said sub-frame, a hook on said transfer arm for receiving the spring coil when the notch in the oscillating disc is directed vertically downwards, means for moving said sub-frame and transfer arm downwardly to withdraw the spring downwards from said disc, and means for moving said transfer arm angularly to insert the spring into the assembly machine.

3. Means as in claim 2 wherein the radial notch in said oscillating disc is of a depth substantially equal to the thickness of a wire of the spring.

4. Means for feeding coiled upholstery springs in rows to a machine by which the rows of springs are interconnected to form a spring centre for a mattress or other assembly, comprising a frame, a plurality of spring feeding units corresponding in number to the number of springs in a row mounted in alignment on said frame, each unit comprising guiding means in which springs are stacked in superimposed relationship with their axes horizontal and in which they move downwardly under gravity, power operated oscillating means located below said guiding means for engaging an intermediate coil of the lowermost spring and moving the spring downwardly through a predetermined distance, and vertically and angularly movable means for positively Withdrawing the spring from said oscillating member and inserting it into the machine, and common actuating means for actuating the oscillating members and the vertically and angularly movable means of all the units in synchronism.

5. Means as in claim 4 wherein said vertically and angularly movable means comprise transfer arms on spindles which are angularly movable in a sub-frame mounted for vertical movement on the frame.

6. Means as in claim 4 wherein said frame is movable in a direction at right angles to the aligned units.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 700,331 Jack May 20, 1902 2,483,609 Barmore Oct. 4, 194-9 2,858,046 Pollmann Oct. 28, 1958 

1. MEANS FOR FEEDING COILED UPHOLSTERY SPRINGS INDIVIDUALLY TO A MACHINE BY WHICH THEY ARE INTERCONNECTED TO FORM A SPRING CENTRE FOR A MATTRESS OR OTHER ASSEMBLY COMPRISING GUIDING MEANS IN WHICH SPRINGS ARE STACKED IN SUPERIMPOSED RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR AXES HORIZONTAL AND IN WHICH THEY MOVE DOWNWARDLY UNDER GRAVITY, POWER OPERATED OSCILLATING MEANS LOCATED BELOW SAID GUIDING MEANS FOR ENGAGING AN INTERMEDIATE COIL OF THE LOWERMOST SPRING AND MOVING THE SPRING DOWNWARDLY THROUGH A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE, AND VERTICALLY AND ANGULARLY MOVABLE MEANS FOR POSITIVELY WITHDRAWING THE SPRING FROM SAID OSCILLATING MEMBER AND INSERTING IT INTO THE MACHINE. 